


after the battle

by PrimeWoman



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, POV Hermione Granger, Very minimally implied PTSD, after the war, post Final Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrimeWoman/pseuds/PrimeWoman
Summary: "Those tiny, fleeting, almost unreal moments she had allowed herself those dreams.She thought there would be time to sleep. She thought there would be time to mourn. She thought there would be time for – red hair that smelt inexplicably of lemons and taking Harry back to Godric’s Hollow and rest, rest, rest. A shower."Hermione after the final battle.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	after the battle

It is not how she dreamed it would be, when the war was over.

Those tiny, fleeting, almost unreal moments she had allowed herself those dreams. 

She thought there would be time to sleep. She thought there would be time to mourn. She thought there would be time for – red hair that smelt inexplicably of lemons and taking Harry back to Godric’s Hollow and rest, rest, rest. A shower. 

The day after the battle, they are in the office of the Minister for Magic. A year ago, this would have intimidated her senseless. She doesn’t care now. 

She still has blood in her hair.

She’s too busy trying to make sure Harry doesn’t hex Kingsley. 

“We need your full accounts.”

“You’ll get them but not today.” 

“We need them now. If we’re going to arrest – “ 

“You don’t need our information for that, Kingsley” 

“We need to know what to charge them with, we can’t just hold people -” 

“how about having a great big bloody snake tattooed on their arms?” 

“Harry – “

“No. We’re leaving. We shouldn’t have even come. Ron, Hermione, come on – “ She goes to stand up with them. Swinging the beaded bag over her shoulder. She tried to leave it back in the dormitory but she felt defenceless without it. I’m not fighting now, she tries to remind herself. 

Kingsley is blocking the door. “Harry, I don’t want to do this.”

“Then don’t” 

“I have reports of illegal activity. From all three of you. Unforgivable curses.” 

She feels faintly sick. Harry darkens. Ron is looking at the floor. 

“You’re going to arrest me?”

“No, of course not. I’m just – “

She speaks up. “You’re threatening us? We give you our accounts now or we’ll go to Azkaban for using Imperius?” Her voices doesn’t even shake.

“Well – “

“You want to try and put me in Azkaban, Kingsley?” Harry’s wand is out.

“Harry – “ she warns, not really caring. 

“My brother’s dead.” It’s the first time Ron has spoken since they entered the ministry. 

Kingsley looks ashamed, “I know, Ron. I’m sorry. Fred was – “

“Don’t.” Ron whispers. If Harry wasn’t between them, she’d try to hold his hand.

She settles instead for trying to get Kingsley to cut them some slack. “We need some time, Minister.” 

“There just isn’t any Hermione. There are too many on the run. We have to get them now, we stumbled after the last war and that’s why there were Malfoy’s left to  
throw Voldemort’s old school things into the path of naïve young witches.”

Ron and Harry both look like they might just punch Kingsley now, fuck their wands. He’s right though. She knows it. She sighs. 

“Harry, Ron, you go back to Hogwarts. I’ll do it. I’ll give the account.” She sits back down. 

“But – “ Harry is going to argue. 

“No, Hermione” Ron looks lost. 

“Could we have a minute, Minister?” She smiles at him. They both seem to remember at the exact same time that they’re on the same team. Have just fought on the same side. 

“Hermione, please, call me Kingley’s for Merlin’s sake.” He says, giving them the room. 

Harry looks sorry. “You shouldn’t have to do it alone.” 

“I’ll stay too,” offers Ron weakly but she won’t have that. 

“You have to be with your family.” She whispers, her hand gripping his for a second. She tries not to blush as Harry almost grins. “It won’t take long. Plus, well I, have the best memory.”

“That’s one way of saying you’re cleverer than we’ll ever be.” Mutters Ron. “Are you ever going to stop doing our homework for us?”

“Not today, it seems.” She shoos them out of the office. And takes her seat as Kingsley enters. 

“Thank you for this. I’m glad you underst-” 

She cuts him off with a confidence she didn’t know she possessed. Like she’s back in the Bank pretending to be a witch twice her age. “Before we begin, don’t you ever threaten Harry again with conviction, Kingsley. Ever.” He sits up a bit straighter. “He’s a child soldier. A child who had to save us all. And he did. He has. Anything he did to get here is defensible under numerous conventions, as you well know. He did what had to be done.” Her voice breaks slightly as she adds “We all did.”

Shacklebolt has the decency to look abashed. “I know. I know Hermione. I just needed you to -” he doesn’t finish that but says instead, “I forget, we all have forgotten how young he is. How young you all are.” He reaches his large hand across his desk and holds her for a moment. 

If she has any tears left, it might make her cry. Tenderness and the acknowledgement it should never have come to this. Three school children alone in the woods. 

But it did and it has and now she must tell it all. So she swallows. And she tells it all without faltering. Answering every question with the same clarity and precision as if she were sat in a classroom, desperate to impress a teacher. Though that girl feels far away. Left behind in shards and pieces; at the Department of Mysteries, the Astronomy Tower, on the cold hard floor of Malfoy Manor, scattered across the grounds of a broken Hogwarts. 

It takes hours. She doesn’t cry.


End file.
